I’m actually enjoying my new special interest of psychology. It’s insult analysis. Why am I starting this now so late in life? For starters, God knew when I’d be spiritually mature enough to handle an advanced education in this area. The way my opportunities developed to practice Proverbs 12:16, being an Aspie in a world dominated by neurotypicals, was perfect!
Being naïve, I’m relatively ignorant of insults directed towards me. For me to be aware of others’ intentions to offend or hurt me, their acts would have to be quite obvious. For example: Back in February of 2008, on the 12th, I wrote about an unpleasant experience I had while working at the Mohonk Mountain House. I did say I was stunned, but I didn’t add the good part of that incident. The social pack of co-workers, with its Alpha leader, did me a favor. I’ve always disliked the nagging feeling that eventually creeps up over time when something isn’t quite the way it should be, especially when people are acting nice in a peculiar sort of way. If I was to immediately realize I was being insulted, I wouldn’t have time to suffer feeling uncomfortable beforehand. So, by the time I know something socially malicious has come my way, it’s a relief. I can then in good conscience be free from having to endure the company of fools, by dumping them like a hot potato.
Being naïve doesn’t make someone a fool. It’s actually the opposite way around. It’s the malicious person who is being taken advantage of. If that wasn’t so, they would have enough wisdom to know better than to let their souls be enslaved to their own lusts. There are many sins which entrap a soul. When it comes to immature social behavior, pride triggers things like envy, jealousy, and vain glory.
I recently learned that it’s common for others to preconsciously¹ envy naïveté. After hearing the explanation, it makes sense. Because I had no idea what kind of stress unsaved neurotypicals face in their social culture, I also had no clue how Asperger individuals can be upsetting by not reacting in a neurotypically predictable fashion. I think that’s funny considering how ironic it is for someone to feel insulted when the person she is insulting isn’t reacting to her insult. It would be like throwing a weapon at someone without realizing it’s going to boomerang back.
It’s usually a day or two later when I learn that what has been said to me was an insult. By the time I then know why a chatter has walked away, it’s a piece of cake to overlook the insult. Because the motive behind why someone says what s/he does often requires time for confirmation, I habitually put her/his words on the back shelf of my mind for later analysis. For example, last Saturday I unknowingly was insulted. It wasn’t until Monday this was revealed to me. Then by Wednesday, the whole incident meshed in my mind enough for me to fully comprehend it.
It doesn’t really matter how much information I collect about human nature when it comes to insults flying over my Aspie head. People cannot understand why insults are not as important to me as they are to them. If only they stopped taking insults personal and started to view them as being bits of data to be analyzed² instead, they’d probably be a lot healthier. No wonder God says a prudent man covereth shame.
What doesn’t make any sense though is how I’m well able to detect when someone else is being insulted, especially when it happens to a neurotypical without her or his awareness!
¹The preconscious is the area of the psyche that contains material from the unconscious before it reaches the conscious mind.
²You need to analyze things before you can put them into a proper perspective.
